The invention relates to the field of windows, especially for motor vehicles, and more particularly concerns windows which are equipped with decorative and/or functional elements attached to the glass. It more especially concerns a window, in particular for fitting in the bodywork opening of a vehicle, comprising a pane with a profiled bead which is fixed at least on the main surface of the pane facing inwards in the fitted state, and which comprises, as covering attachment, a lip which projects beyond the edge of the pane with a sealing rib which can be applied against an adjacent wall part when the window is fitted.
It is known in general to adhesively bond the windows of vehicles in the respective openings of the bodywork of the vehicle. To do this, the panes are often provided with a profiled bead which adheres at least on their main surface facing inwards in the fitted state. On the profiled bead and/or in proximity thereto, a strip of adhesive is applied on this same main surface. The pane provided with the strip of adhesive is then inserted into the opening. The latter is framed by a mounting flange, on which the strip of adhesive is applied. The windows in the fitted state must preferably be situated practically flush with the external surface of the bodywork. To do this, the mounting flange is set back with respect to the main surface of the bodywork by means of a peripheral angled ledge. The height of the angled ledge corresponds to the thickness of the window and of the adhesive. In certain designs, the edges of the panes are not covered by the profiled bead. As the dimensions of the pane and the perimeter of the opening cannot be adapted to one another without tolerance, because of the size variations upon manufacture, a space is left in the form of a groove between the angled ledge or the edge of the opening and the pane.
According to document DE-A1-38 18 930, in order to cover this space, a lip is provided which is formed directly on the profiled bead adhering to the pane, preferably by extrusion. In another alternative embodiment in the same document, a supplementary profiled band of a flexible elastomeric plastic is adhesively bonded, along the peripheral surface of the pane, on the main surface facing inwards. This supplementary profiled band has a tubular portion which fills the said space when the window is in the fitted state.
A profiled shape is also known (DE-A1-43 01 026) which encloses on three sides the external edge and the edge of the pane in one embodiment, that is to say also on the external main surface, and which additionally comprises a lip projecting from the pane and serving as a lateral slot covering.
Thermoplastic materials, preferably thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) or thermoplastic olefins (TPO), have principally been used hitherto as materials for such profiles. With these, the lip can be manufactured to be sufficiently thin as early as at the extrusion stage, so as to be able to flex elastically against the edge of the opening upon fitting of the window in the bodywork, without generating excessively high forces of reaction during fitting. In addition to its sealing function, the lip centres the window in the opening during insertion and keeps the window centred.
Dirt can still accumulate in the space thus covered by the folded-up lip and can only be removed with difficulty from the bottom of the groove.